An Arbela man is facing two counts of tampering in the second degree following his arrest on August 15th by the Scotland County Sheriff's Department.

Destery D. Spurgeon, 30, was jailed on a $1,500 cash bond following an investigation initiated by a complaint from Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative.

According to court documents, the utility provider reported pulling the meter at Spurgeon's property in Arbela on August 6th. According to the company's records, power was illegally turned back on at the property just hours later.

An investigation revealed that a meter was illegally removed from a property in Granger and reinstalled at Spurgeon's home in Arbela allowing approximately 400 kilowatts of electricity to be illegally acquired.

Spurgeon faces one count of tampering, a class A misdemeanor, for removing the meter from the adjoining property, and one additional count for installing it as his property.